I. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to a group of disubstituted and trisubstituted .alpha.-L-xylo-2-hexulofuranoses not previously disclosed, and having anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative properties to a degree far exceeding those of previously described compounds as well as having a greatly protracted effect as compared with previously described compounds.
More specifically, the present invention relates to 2,3-O-isopropylidene-1-O-alkyl or substituted alkyl or arylalkoxyalkyl-6-deoxy-6-amino or 6-deoxy-6-thio alkyl- or substituted alkyl- or aralkyl or saturated heterocycle or saturated heterocyclic alkyl-.alpha.-L-xylo-2-hexulofuranoses and their preparation. This invention further relates to 6-deoxy-2,3-O-isopropylidene-1,4-disubstituted-.alpha.-L-xylo-2-hexulofura noses and their preparation. This invention further relates to 6-deoxy-2,3-O-isopropylidene-1,4,6-trisubstituted-.alpha.-L-xylo-2-hexulof uranoses and their preparation. The compounds of the present invention have shown significant anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-proliferative activity and are useful for treating warm blooded animals and mammals with various cancer diseases (such as Melanoma, Leukemia, cancers of Lung, Colon, CNS, Breast, Prostrate etc.), rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, scleroderma, systemic lupus erythmatosus, autoimmune deficiency syndrome, atopic dermatitis, asthma, and psoriasis among others. Therefore, this invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions containing the compounds of the present invention and methods of treating cancer, inflammatory and/or autoimmune disorders.